The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1887-01-01
EXPOUNDED BY A
NEW CONVERT.

NEW CONVERT.
Rev. j. K. Street, now of Dallas,
Texas, is new convert to Universal
ism, in charge of a promising mission
airy movement in that city, towards
which the General Convention has re-
Gently made generous appropriation,
Mr.. Street attended the Akron meeting,
and in brief address on the resources
of Texas, made very favorable i'm
preston. He is undoubtedly man of
strong intellectual gifts, and speaker
of force and vigor, and of more than
average ability-just such man as is
needed to attract attention to our faith
and give it foothold in the enterpris-
ing, wide awake city of Dallas. The
following abstract of Mr.. Streets open
ing sermon, from a secular paper, shows
that he understands Universalism, and
is well prepared to expound its founda-
ton principles to the ediication of his
hearers. With such vigorous preacher
to lead in the new movement in Dallas,
good results may be confidently expect
ed. The report says that Mr.. Street
talks well and reasons closely on the line
of his orthodoxy'-a conclusion that
our readers will agree with, after read
ing the abstract which follows:
His sermon was devoted ~ to the
polity and ~ to the distinctive doc
trines of the church. On the latter
head, he said, aside from the Christian
ethics and moral principles inculcated
by Universalism, itrecognized universal
salvation as an eminent truth of the
Christian religion; a truth that Uni
versalists had every reason to be proud
of. 1t alone offered the inspiration and
the hope that good will be the final goal
of all that evil shall be overcome with
good; that every winter shall be changed
into springtime that all families shall
| finally be united; in fine, that God shall
be all in all. The Universalist believes,
he continued, that the Scriptural idea
represented by salvation is, to be cured,
to be cleansed, to be made morally pure,
to be made partakers of the inheritance
of saints. 1t implies universal healing,
universal cleansing, universal enlight-
eminent, universal love, universal joy,
universal peace, to result from uni
versal health, universal purity, universal
cleansing.
But people say if we are all going to
be saved, what use is there in preach
ing i? There can be no salvation out
side of purity then the sooner you
become purified the sooner you become
saved. What are you to be saved from
but your sins ? We are all under con-
demnation we have all sinned and
come far short Of the glory of God, and
the doctrine assures the punishment of
the wicked to be as self-evident as that
if you stick your finger in the fire it is
bound to burn. You can no more do
moral wrong without suffering the con-
sequences of it than you can thrust
your hand into the blaze and not eX-
pect it to burn you. Universalism does
not argue that any man can escape
from wrong doing. 1t tells you that
the law is memorable and that there is
one way to escape, and that is to adj
just yourself to its requirements. Why
do men do wrong? Because they are
willing to take the chances. If they
are certain of the punishment they will
not do it. You will not stick your
finger in the fire, because you know it
will burn you, but you will risk your
life in buggy behind wild horse, be-
cause you do not know that you will
break your neck.
AS the father pities his children, so
also tour Father who art in heaven"
pities his children. He is Judge, not
by the right of might but by the might
of right {; he is judge, not because of
his power, but because he is our Maker,
our Father. He is the Father of all
spirits, and the Father of all in heaven,
above all and over all and in all in
short, God is love. In his chastise-
ments and judgments he has but one
object in view, and that is the reclama-
ton of the erring. Christ came to rec
oncile souls to God, and not to recon-
cile God to souls, for God is always rec
onciled to his children. The preacher
then took the position that Christ ef-
fects such reconciliation in the here
after. He asked why did Christ go to
preach to spirits in prison To mock
them ? No, to reclaim them, to bring
them back into truth. The Scripture
says: GAS in Adam, all die, even so in
Christ shall all be made alive" What
do you understand by that E? Simply
this and nothing more, that he repre-
sents the whole human family. The
Scripture says Christ shall reign until
all enemies are subdued. Do you think
he will trample under foot? No; he
comes not as a conquering tyrant, nor
as hero, but as an all pervading Sa-
viour. Aud he is foreign until all enc
mics are put under his feet, and the